Welcome to my website.

I am a landscape and nature photographer, living in Wilmington, North Carolina.  For as long as I can remember, I have loved being in and exploring the outdoors.  As a child I spent countless hours roaming the large forested park near my house.  Later, my family moved to a farm and I had fields, woods, and marshlands that I could use for hunting, camping, and just plain wandering about.  When I was sixteen, I had the great good fortune to attend a month-long course at the North Carolina Outward Bound School.  This month of backpacking and rock climbing in the mountains of the Pisgah National Forest and Great Smoky Mountains National Park was a pivotal experience in solidifying my confidence in wilderness exploration and sensitivity to the beauty and mystery of the natural world.

Over the subsequent decades, my love of the natural world has remained strong.  When I am away from inhabited areas, in a forest or desert, on a seashore or a mountain top, I feel relaxed and connected to the Earth and to life.  As I have spent time outdoors, I have taken particular satisfaction in learning to observe the details and workings of the natural world.  Photography enables me to capture the things I see and share them with others, and, at the same time, has encouraged me to continue developing my ability to notice, observe, and appreciate the art of nature.

In addition to landscape and nature photography, I perform custom photo shoots of families, engaged couples, high school seniors, and others in outdoor natural settings. My goal is to create photos that show relaxed individuals who are happy to be with each other and to be connected to the natural world.

I hope that you will take the time to look through my photographs and enjoy seeing some of the things that nature has shown me and the work I’ve done for my clients.  Please don’t hesitate to contact me.  I welcome your comments, questions, and suggestions.  One of the things that draws me so strongly to photography is my belief that one is never finished becoming an artist.  Photography offers an opportunity to continually grow and improve one’s ability to see, feel, capture, and communicate.  I hope that we can learn from each other.

Arnold Leonard